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Playfield Clearcoat

Toxteth O'Grady

Toxteth O'Grady

Site Supporter
Joined
Feb 19, 2017
Messages
847
Location
West Sussex
Alias
Lou Swire
Hi all,
I’m gearing up to try a playfield restoration and have read up more info than I can retain at this moment.
I was wondering which clear coat anyone has tried and recommends, I have been looking for the shop line PPG JC660 as recommended in Vids fantastic pinside guide but can’t find a uk distributor.
I intend to use an automotive compressor rather than an airbrush sized one.
Any help would be great.
 
Or if you dont like the idea of 2k and a mask, use a cellulose clear and mix with anti bloom thinners (not cheap gun wash thinners).
But still use a mask when painting regardless.(never paint without a all the right protection equipment)
Again make sure you use dry air supply and there isnt a drip lube/oiler in the line in the line or been in the line
 
RudeDogg1 said:
Oh I thought u needed fancy breathing stuff didn't realise you can get away with just a mask[/QUOIn a comercial
Click to expand...
RudeDogg1 said:
Oh I thought u needed fancy breathing stuff didn't realise you can get away with just a mask
Click to expand...
The mask system is fine for occasional stuff 3m do a decent one as well.
If unsure of 2k stick to celly but nowhere near as good and need to leave a age to harden before polishing.Stays soft for ages
 
So does no one actually clearcoat playfields themselves?
I have heard that auto body shops have been known to be a tad shoddy with their finish.
 
Hmm maybe this is something i could do as a hobby/side line for forum members ? ,i Spent close to 40 years in the motor trade owned a couple of workshops etc.Do you think there would be a a demand for clear coating service? The material cost is minimal its all about the prep and then technique.Seriously what would somebody pay to have a play field just clear coated? It really isnt hard to do but bear in mind i have spent 40 years in the trade so perhaps have a slanted view on ease of application. oh and the pitfalls that can happen due to bad bad bad prep,such as reaction (the worse side effect),sinking , inclusions (posh motor trade wording for dust and ****ypoo in the finish).dotting and the like
 
Toxteth O'Grady said:
So does no one actually clearcoat playfields themselves?
I have heard that auto body shops have been known to be a tad shoddy with their finish.
Click to expand...
quality of finish is only equal to time spent on prep,if the prep is poor so will the finish of the topcoat,harsh but true,if you only ask a refinish shop to apply top they cant be responsible for what they are going over,the hard work is in the prep,
 
I have only used the upol lineup as it was economical. The issue with using a 3rd party to clear is the number of times the playfield may need doing. For example...

Paint -Planking touchups
Clear1-lockdown layer
Paint-Initial touchups
Clear2-seal in touchup
Paint-colour corrections
Clear3-seal in corrections

Rinse and repeat paint and clear until solid areas of colour are correct.

Paint - white
Clear4-lockdown white
Paint- important blacks, keylines, inserts, yada
Clear5,6,7-saturated layers to polish out.

So you may need to make a good few trips to the 3rd party over the course of the project.

An example...
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/a-playfield-restoration-step-by-step-walk-through
 
Moonbus said:
I have only used the upol lineup as it was economical. The issue with using a 3rd party to clear is the number of times the playfield may need doing. For example...

Paint -Planking touchups
Clear1-lockdown layer
Paint-Initial touchups
Clear2-seal in touchup
Paint-colour corrections
Clear3-seal in corrections

Rinse and repeat paint and clear until solid areas of colour are correct.

Paint - white
Clear4-lockdown white
Paint- important blacks, keylines, inserts, yada
Clear5,6,7-saturated layers to polish out.

So you may need to make a good few trips to the 3rd party over the course of the project.

An example...
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/a-playfield-restoration-step-by-step-walk-through
Click to expand...
Hi.u-pol pruduct is ok ,not what i would choose but im blinkered to sikkens, interesting comments,i would of expected all the prep touchups and corrections to be made prior to any clear going on,doing touch ups once clear is applied would not be anywhere near idea as you would need to go below the clear to touch up,then re-flat and basically start again.Also why so many coats 2 decently applied coats would be more than enough on any correctly prepped surface and then a quick G3 out.ive never done a play field but done plenty of clears over wood on classics back in the day.This is starting to interest me i might have to get a old playfield and dig out my DeVibiss once the sun comes out.
 
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Its all down to the condition the playfield is in to start with and its age. Modern varieties are probably going to need less coats then the old EM lacquered types.

The number of coats needed is due to locking work in. If you spend a few days prepping, mixing and spraying / brushing an area and you get it looking really nice, the last thing you want to do is foul the area with another colour of lift up the paint when removing template masking so the whole playfield is cleared to lock the good work in. Once that is done future mistakes can just we washed off.

If you are using waterslides or decals these work best sandwiched between two layers of clear and the layer of clear you put over them cannot be the one you buff out, if the decal ink has lifted into the covering clear when you buff it you may buff lose some ink.

Cupped inserts need to be individually filled with clear and then a layer of clear is needed over the whole playfield, again this cannot be the buffing final layer as you may end up with seams around the clear filling the inserts.

If its a modern playfield and its just a case of slapping a decal on and clearing over it the chances are it would only need the two coats.
 
Hi,Moonbus thats all very interesting thank you, and its wetting my apatite even more,so basically your using clear as a high build filler to level different levels between playfield,artwork and decals etc.yes that would require many revisits as different layers were added.
 
Toxteth O'Grady said:
Ok, so has anyone used the sikkens range on a playfield, is it suitable for use with water based paints?
Click to expand...

Can't say without testing it but most clearcoat apart from the very fastest / hottest drying should be ok for covering paint.

If you have anything else like decals or waterslide go for the coolest you can with an acceptable cure time.
 
lmtc said:
Hi,Moonbus thats all very interesting thank you, and its wetting my apatite even more,so basically your using clear as a high build filler to level different levels between playfield,artwork and decals etc.yes that would require many revisits as different layers were added.
Click to expand...

Sorry to Toxteth for derailing slightly but to answer Imtc... Yes, the layers of clear fill in imperfections and once sanded flat you can end up with what look like contour lines. These two pictures are from a playfield I was covering in waterslides. I brushed on a few layers of clear to cover up some initial paint work and fill in imperfections around the inserts and ball wear. The area mid picture shows how you get the contour lines (marked in red) when sanding flat and the green line in the background shows how obvious the ball groove was in the playfield before sanding.

Playfield1.jpg

playfield2.jpg
 
fascinating stuff guys keep in coming - and I just used a couple of rattle cans and was over the moon with the finish!!!!

Cheers

kev
 
I love this sort of stuff, just wish I could do it.

If someone ran some sessions showing people how to do this sort of thing, I'd definitely be up for it.
 
So Moonbus, you are going to use stickers to cover up playfield wear and then clearcoat over the top or are they water slide decals?
Also what clear are you going to use?
 
This was my first pinball machine back in 2016. I wanted something to experiment on and get dirty with, unfortunately in my ignorance I bought a machine they only made 250 of so I felt obliged to tart it up.
I started with the intention of painting it but ended up using water slide. I used 1k and 2k Upol and also made a ploycarbonate playfield overlay because, why not hey...

Full story here...
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/bally-magic-circle-semi-sympathetic-playfield-restoration

Short story...

Started with this
1.jpg


After trying to paint it by hand I spray painted the yellow
2.jpg


I then needed white background as most of the text was white, this was my biggest issue, no cheap way to print white
3.jpg


Made water slide decals to replace all the ink
4.jpg


Ended up with this
5.jpg


In game..
6.jpg 7.jpg 8.jpg
 
Great story Moonbus, I have just spent the best part of an hour reading your restoration on pinside and what a fantastic end product for a first attempt.
I will probably be picking your brain a bit in the future.
 
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